ferret with bad cough

Took my ferret to the vet for a bad cough. he was given amoxi drops for ten days but did not help. took him back and he was given a shot of baytril and cefa drops. if this does not work he will need to come back for an xray to see if he has a heart problem. he is NOT a marshall ferret but he is a rainbow world exotics ferret. i am just worried that he has a heart problem? the vet seems to think that the amoxi drops just werent strong enough because his lungs did sound a little better this time. do you think she is on the right track? can it be possible that the amoxi drops just werent strong enough? i mean his cough is real bad... it is scary. the vet has not heard it because every time i go in there he does not cough. so if he does have a heart problem, how do you handle this? and what is an estimate of the cost for treatment? Thank you.

It seems to me (not being a vet but having heart issues of my own) that if his heart was bad enough to cause a cough, then a vet would be able to hear a difference when listening to his heart (a murmur or gallop or something different).

It's not uncommon for severe respiratory illnesses to take 2 rounds of antibiotics to clear it up. I'm glad they switched the type of med as well. Another thing to consider is a fungal infection like aspergillosis. Not so likely but it is all around us. Is his bedding kept clean and dry? Is his food clean and dry? We see geese come in with asper when they've been feeding in the grain fields in the early winter. The wet grain is a great place for the mold to grow and when they eat it, they aspirate and then get sick. It's a tough one to clear up.

That's just another thought, not so likely for your indoor pet. And I suppose they checked for parasites too?

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